Lack of Respect for the History of our Great Game by Interstate Clubs

Jun 6, 2016
19,309
12,031
Perth
AFL Club
Collingwood
Other Teams
Pines Football Club
VFA relegated to 2nd tier status by virtue of the majority of strong clubs moving their season to season premier competition under the title of VFL in 1897.
SANFL essentially relegated to 2nd tier status when they entered their own team as a team in this premier league in 1991.
WAFL spiritually relegated to 2nd tier status in 1987 when they entered their own team of West Coast Eagles in this premier league and lots of fans would not stay around to watch the next tier down play after it at the same ground.
VFA killed off gradually during late 1980s and early 1990's to be merged into the 2nd tier state league we have now in Victoria but it is no longer VFA. Got gobbled up by the premier league and identity of long time VFA clubs mostly gone.

That is of course because of the AFL, none of those leagues apart from the VFA were officially rated as 2nd tier before the VFL expansion and renaming it the AFL.
 
Case in point. The last State of origin. Victoria vs the REST OF AUSTRALIA. At the G. Yet another demolition. We own Aussie Rules.

I'm grateful the "interstate" teams joined the competition and saved our suburban competitions arse from going bankrupt

Fixed that for you
 

Benny78

Cancelled
BeanCoiNFT Investor
Apr 4, 2016
8,847
7,061
Australia
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
Ken Hinkley
Interstate fans are dangerous and like you said no respect. If they were in charge in 20 years time every game would be played in Perth. And Victoria would only have 2 clubs

Maybe instead of being unreasonable they should accept the VFL and not the WAFL evolved into a national compeition
 

p5ych00n5

Club Legend
Sep 1, 2014
1,001
901
AFL Club
Richmond
How about, hear me out, January 1st 2030 dissolve the AFL and create the NAFL or ANFL, this gives the current administration 10 years to introduce a Tasmanian and NT team, therefore having at least 1 team in each state and territory, allow players to go home with a 'homesickness' clause with relevant and realistic compensation for clubs if they're gutted with an exodus of players.
If all goes well and the new expansion clubs with a playing list hardened with a decade of playing with the big boys and financially stable administrations along with grounds of AFL quality, once that Jan 2030 hits, wipe all clubs previous premierships as it's a brand spanker of a truly national comp and it ensures each club is on a nice equal big fat zero premierships and stops these shite 'but, but my clubs shite peanut league premierships should count'
 
Aug 27, 2014
38,196
41,193
spacetime
AFL Club
Carlton
Other Teams
there are no other teams worthy
That is of course because of the AFL, none of those leagues apart from the VFA were officially rated as 2nd tier before the VFL expansion and renaming it the AFL.
Think you miss point.
VFA was rated best league before clubs left it to make their seasonal premier competition the VFL in 1897.
All these leagues were reduced as the premier league continued to take more and more from each of other leagues.
Does not matter what state these old football clubs are from. They all got history to respect that go back as far as each league being the best league in each state. Now all state leagues been reduced to feeder comps to one league.
 

briztoon

Wannabe Draft Nuffie
Nov 28, 2015
26,156
32,469
Brisbane
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
Other Teams
NUFC, Philadelphia 76'ers
There seems to be an absolute lack of respect for the history of our great game by some Interstate clubs supporters simply because their clubs were not present.

Should Carlton forget about champions such as Nicholls and Jesaulenko because they only played in 12 team competitions?

Should the legends of the Colliers and Coventry’s be wiped from the record books because they played iagaindt ‘suburban’ teams’ ?

Should the Coleman medal be renamed the ‘Kennedy Medal’ because the great man played in a time of ‘amateur’ footballers and should Reynolds exploits be ignored?

Perhaps Bunton and Murray should be thrown on the scrap heap.

Maybe the immortal that is EJ Whitten should be relegated to suburban footballer and forget about Charlie Sutton.

Farmer and Goggin should be removed because they were not part of the AFL. Even Ablett’s 9 goal GF heroics would be wiped.

Matthews the greatest of them all would not be considered with the modern greats because he played in pre AFL

Barrassi and the immortal Demons teams of the 50s and 60s should not be celebrated due to the the fact they didn’t play in the expansion. The Norm Smith medal should be renamed

Grieg and Dempsey only played part time and could not possibly rank with the greats of today

Forget the Jack Dyer medal, Tigers fans should ignore his legend and rename it the Dusty medal. As for Hart and Bartlett they would not rate.

Pratt’s 150 and Nash’s heroics do not count

Baldock and Stewart ??? Who ???

And well we are at let’s rename ‘Up there Cazaly’ - Up there Modra
and the Jock McHale medal the ‘Simpson Medal’. No matter what era, no matter how long ago, a champion of the game is a champion of the game. They were the best on a level playing field against their peers. A Premiership whether Essendon in 1897 or West Coasts in 2018 was just as important. The history of our great game has been carved and written and for those who don’t like it the answer is simple. Stop whinging about our past and go and make your own history.
What’s the point of this little rant?

Because there’s no actual example of the game being disrespected given.

Appears to be just a like scabbing exercise.
 
Feb 11, 2011
15,092
15,117
pakenham
AFL Club
Fremantle
There seems to be an absolute lack of respect for the history of our great game by some Interstate clubs supporters simply because their clubs were not present.

Should Carlton forget about champions such as Nicholls and Jesaulenko because they only played in 12 team competitions?

Should the legends of the Colliers and Coventry’s be wiped from the record books because they played iagaindt ‘suburban’ teams’ ?

Should the Coleman medal be renamed the ‘Kennedy Medal’ because the great man played in a time of ‘amateur’ footballers and should Reynolds exploits be ignored?

Perhaps Bunton and Murray should be thrown on the scrap heap.

Maybe the immortal that is EJ Whitten should be relegated to suburban footballer and forget about Charlie Sutton.

Farmer and Goggin should be removed because they were not part of the AFL. Even Ablett’s 9 goal GF heroics would be wiped.

Matthews the greatest of them all would not be considered with the modern greats because he played in pre AFL

Barrassi and the immortal Demons teams of the 50s and 60s should not be celebrated due to the the fact they didn’t play in the expansion. The Norm Smith medal should be renamed

Grieg and Dempsey only played part time and could not possibly rank with the greats of today

Forget the Jack Dyer medal, Tigers fans should ignore his legend and rename it the Dusty medal. As for Hart and Bartlett they would not rate.

Pratt’s 150 and Nash’s heroics do not count

Baldock and Stewart ??? Who ???

And well we are at let’s rename ‘Up there Cazaly’ - Up there Modra
and the Jock McHale medal the ‘Simpson Medal’. No matter what era, no matter how long ago, a champion of the game is a champion of the game. They were the best on a level playing field against their peers. A Premiership whether Essendon in 1897 or West Coasts in 2018 was just as important. The history of our great game has been carved and written and for those who don’t like it the answer is simple. Stop whinging about our past and go and make your own history.
Sorry mate but the Victorians have no respect history outside of Victorian.

Jezza was great but have heard of John Gerovich or Con Regan?

Victorians go on about Flags pre AFL as if all of the best talent was playing VFL.

A combined Fremantle team would have destroyed most VFL teams.
 
Jul 28, 2012
11,010
10,327
Melbourne, the lost City.
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
QPR, Buffalo Bills
Let the interstate clubs celebrate their own pre AFL competitions...I have no problem with that. They joined the VFL which became the "national" AFL
Celebrate all they like in WA & SA anything and everything they want before 1990.
 
Jul 28, 2012
11,010
10,327
Melbourne, the lost City.
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
QPR, Buffalo Bills
Sorry mate but the Victorians have no respect history outside of Victorian.

Jezza was great but have heard of John Gerovich or Con Regan?

Victorians go on about Flags pre AFL as if all of the best talent was playing VFL.

A combined Fremantle team would have destroyed most VFL teams.
Now, don't be silly....
 
Jul 28, 2012
11,010
10,327
Melbourne, the lost City.
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
QPR, Buffalo Bills
You don’t know your footy history.
You don't know who you're talking too...we can debate this all day. The fact is the VFL was the premier competition in Australia and the AFL is based here in Victoria and Victoria is the birthplace of Australian rules football. In 25 state carnivals played between 1908 - 1988 Victoria won 20 WA 3 and SA just 2. Now, i am happy there is a national competition, i wish we had three teams in WA and SA, but no point trying to re-write history. The Swan Districts and Perth teams of the 60's would've been struggling to win a couple of games in the VFL in each of their premier years! Same goes for the 80's. Sturt in SA in the 60's would've struggled to beat Fitzroy! Port the same in the late 80's and 90's. I'm very happy for both WA and SA to celebrate their long history of playing the game and acknowledging all the great players who wisely made the move to Vicroia in order to challenge themsleves and improve their playing careers.against the very best. They all knew you had to play in the best competition to prove you were the best...Now we have this wonderful national competition where players from all over the country can play in all states...We should have 20 teams, sacrifice one Vic team and add one more each from WA and SA plus Tassie. Have a 19 round round fixture and a final 10...
 

Lolbert

Team Captain
May 9, 2016
570
1,074
AFL Club
West Coast
Let the interstate clubs celebrate their own pre AFL competitions...I have no problem with that. They joined the VFL which became the "national" AFL
Celebrate all they like in WA & SA anything and everything they want before 1990.
Totally agree - as long as we aren't expected to care about how good Richmond and Carlton were in the 70's Isn't the argument by the OP that we're being disrespectful by not doing so?

To be honest, I really don't mind if the league wants to celebrate and acknowledge VFL records over interstate ones. My main concern is the that the league hasn't seem to have caught up and the media/organisational bias towards VFL teams is tiresome. But there are a dozen threads on that already so i'll leave it there.
 
Isnt it amazing how non Victorian supporters forget that we wouldn’t have a national competition if it wasn’t for the VFL

Oh yes ... and my mob was the forced advanced party.

Looking forward to Club rationalisation here in Melbourne. Your chronic team heads the queue in God's waiting room.
 
Apr 28, 2008
11,211
8,194
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
Arsenal Kilmarnock
Implicitly equating "our Great Game" to VFL in the thread title is clearly inciteful. I think most interstate fans respect the VFL achievements for what they were, and some like the Swans & Lions obviously have some keen VFL history of their own. But the VFL was just one of a couple state leagues, all with their own history. As time goes by the VFL era will become less relevant.

Some campaigners will go too far in demeaning clubs like Carlton and Essendon who haven't done anything noteworthy in 20 years, whilst some of those club fans will go too far the other way trying to lord their (mostly) 16 flags over interstate opponents. Most AFL fans (Victorian & interstate) have frankly moved on. We recognise VFL achievements of the past, but that doesn't justify any sense of privilege or entitlement in 2020s AFL. If you feel threatened, don't worry, your club isn't going to fold, it may at worst merge/relocate/relegate. Fitzroy still have their legacy despite last winning a flag during WWII. Given much history these clubs have, and their contribution to the national culture, they aren't just going to get disappeared overnight.
 
Back